The Media Has Incorrect Information

I rarely watch the news, but earlier this week, I turned it on. Much to my dismay, I sat there listening to one of the news anchors talking about how bad the real estate market is and how much worse it will get when the tax credit stimulus is over at the end of next month!

I thought, “are you kidding?” First of all the real estate market (here in Hutchinson, MN) is so much better than it has been for the last couple of years, and the tax credit stimulus ended on April 30, 2010! (Anyone expecting to participate in the tax credit needed to be entered into a purchase agreement by 4/30/10.)

So, in a matter of a few minutes, I remembered why I don’t watch the news. The information they are giving isn’t always correct!

Read What You Sign!

Many investors today are searching out property that has been foreclosed on in the Hutchinson, MN area. They are finding some really good values on properties, that with a little work can be turned around and sold for a profit.

There is one warning that buyers of foreclosed properties should be aware of. In the contracts that these buyers sign with the sellers (ususally mortgage companies), there is a clause that says that the “servicing company” has the right to step in and buy the property any time prior to closing.

This doesn’t happen real often, but it is happening. When the “servicing company” comes in and exercises their option to purchase the property, the investor/buyer is out any money they have spent to that point. This includes any inspection fees, appraisal fees, etc.

So, just a little warning to investors/buyers that are purchasing foreclosed property. Read the papers you are signing so there are no surprises!

Summer is in Full Swing

Now that the school year has ended here in Hutchinson, MN, there are so many things for you and your family to enjoy.

Music in the Park begins next week and features different performers each week. Bring your blanket and lawn chairs to library square each Monday night to take it all in.

The walking trail along the whole north side of the Crow River features a great place to walk, run, bicycle, etc. for the entire family. Stop along the way and enjoy the ducks, geese, pelicans, deer, etc. in the Gopher Campfire sponsored sanctuary.

The Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce has a good listing of all the activities that take place throughout Hutchinson, so visit their website at
“explorehutchinson.com.”

Spend time enjoying all that Hutchinson, MN has to offer.

The Real Estate Market (first 30 days after the tax credit expiration.)

According to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors, home sales in the Twin Cities housing market took another dip as the hangover from the tax credit expiration continued. For the week ending May 22, there were 624 pending sales—a precipitous drop of 42.5 percent from a year ago.

The biggest drops in sales since the credit ended can be seen in the traditional seller market (i.e., anything that’s not a foreclosure or short sale) and in the middle price ranges from $150,000 to $350,000. Pending sales have dropped in those ranges from 1,085 the week the credit ended to 384 for the week ending May 22. In sum, it may be a difficult summer market for home sellers.

The good news is that new supply is also slowing, which means the market is already self-correcting to avoid a surge in unneeded inventory. New listings fell to 1,581 for the same reporting week, a decline of 15.8 percent from this time last year.

The Supply-Demand Ratio has been updated for June and shows a figure of 5.05, which means there are 5.05 homes for sale for each buyer in the month. That’s a 10.9 percent increase over the mark seen a year ago and is a result of the decline in buyer activity.

Here in Hutchinson, MN the market activity for May, 2010 was still pretty good. We’ll have to see if our housing market sees the same declines as reported for the Twin Cities market.

There Is a New Sign in Town

Recently we unveiled our new for sale signs in the Hutchinson, MN area. You’ll see them on the homes we have for sale as well as homes that have recently sold.
After 25 years of using the other signs, we decided it was time for a new look.
The new signs are in the shape of a house and have brochure boxes attached to the chimney.
We hope you enjoy the new look.

Expiration of Tax Credit

The expiration of the tax credit clearly motivated buyers to take action by April 30. Last week, there was a significant 31.2 percent jump in Pending Sales versus last year, bringing the total number of contracts written to 1,469. But for the first time this year the number of New Listings was down. A total of 1,803 of them entered the market, 11.5 percent lower than a year ago.

Some encouraging figures include a Days on Market count of 127, down 15.3 percent compared to last year, and Percent of Original List Price Received at Sale of 93.6 percent, up 4.0 percent over last year.

These statistics include all of the Regional Multiple Listing area not just Hutchinson, MN.

We expect buyer activity to continue over the coming weeks, although not with the same level of urgency due to the expired tax credits and a slight seasonal lull before we get into the heart of summer.

Sales Activity Continues

No one was really sure what was going to happen once the stimulus money expired on April 30, 2010.

We have been pleasantly surprised to see that many calls are continuing to come in and people still want to buy and sell their homes!

This activity is certainly a good indication that the housing market may very well be coming out of its slump here in Hutchinson, MN.

The interest rates continue to be favorable for buyers. That fact coupled with favorable prices on homes, makes this a great time for buyers to buy homes and sellers to sell their homes.

How the Spring real estate market is shaping up

According to the Minneapolis Association of Realtors, the local housing market continues to mimic spring growth, as Twin Citizens emerge from their wintry cocoons just in time for the final days of the home buyer tax credit. For the week ending March 20, there were 2,277 new listings, up 28.8 percent from a year ago and marking the seventh consecutive week of strong year-over-year increases.

Pending sales dropped a bit from their high the previous week, but the 950 signed purchase agreements for the week were 10.2 percent ahead of where they were at this point last year.

Keep in mind that these numbers reflect the entire Regional Multiple Listing area. The housing market in Hutchinson, MN appears to be following the same trends.

As the tax credit’s April 30 deadline looms, expect a flurry of home sales activity. Time will tell what happens when the credit has expired, but the next few weeks should be extremely active.

How Green Are We?

Here are some interesting statistics recently published in “The Residential Specialist” magazine. (Their source for the information was Harris Interactive.) This magazine is available to all real estate agents who have earned their Certified Residential Specialist certification through the National Association of Realtors.

Several of Hometown Realty agents in Hutchinson, MN have earned this CRS designation.

What percentage of Americans participated in energy-saving activities within the past year?
Installed more energy efficient light bulbs: 63%
Purchased energy efficient appliances: 36%
Started paying bills online: 46%
Switched to paperless financial statements: 40%
Donated an electronic device for recycling: 41%
Swithed from bottle to tap water: 29%
Installed a low flow showerhead: 17%
Installed a low flow toilet: 16%
Made home improvements that provided government tax credits: 14%
Bought a more fuel efficent car: 13%
None of thes: 13%
So, how do you and your family compare?

Loan Modifications – The Good and The Bad

Many homeowners have been able to take advantage of the loan modifications that some of the lenders are doing on mortgages that either are in trouble or may soon be.

We at Hometown Realty here in Hutchinson, MN have clients who have been able to work out modifications with their lenders to lower their monthly payments by hundreds of dollars and now are able to stay in their homes.

Some of the modifications have required the homeowner to come up with some cash at the time of the modification, some of the loans have been extended to 35 and 40 years, while others have simply lowered interest rates to allow for lower monthly payments.

That’s all the good, now for the bad. These loan modifications will affect the homeowner’s credit scores negatively. This isn’t always explained clearly to the homeowners who become surprised down the road when they learn that their credit scores have dropped considerably.

So, if you are considering doing a loan modification, be sure you know all the ramifications before you proceed.